Over £16m funding awarded in Suffolk as Arts Council England backs art, culture and creativity
Arts organisations across Suffolk have scooped up funding boosts to continue their work and develop further links with communities.
Thirteen organisations have been recognised in Arts Council England's Investment Programme from 2023 to 2026, with a share of £5,362,518 a year, totalling £16,087,554 over three years.
The biggest grant was awarded to Britten Pears Arts who received an average annual award of £1,428,835 with other venues in Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket and Lowestoft also in luck.
According to Arts Council England, the investment of £220,000 per year in the Theatre Royal will enable the organisation to further embed participation across their outputs, including talent development and community productions targeted at those facing barriers to accessing culture.
The contemporary theatre is also developing a new accessible community participation space and delivering diversity and inclusion training to ensure their programmes are relevant and reflective of the communities they serve.
Theatre Royal Artistic Director, Owen Calvert-Lyons, recognises that this funding benefits everyone in the region and that in the last five years, they have reached over 300,000 people through performing arts and creative learning offers.
He said: “This support and funding from Arts Council England is brilliant news for our community, local residents, artists, visitors and organisations as it further enables us to transform the lives of local people through the power of the performing arts.
"We believe that everyone, at all stages of their lives, regardless of background or personal circumstance, should have equal opportunity to engage in extraordinary cultural experiences and this funding allows us to extend this even further."
First Light Festival in Lowestoft will also receive £220,000 per year, which will help the organisation to continue delivering its annual festival and year-round programme, helping to establish itself as a creative hub for the town and uniting its community through free, high quality cultural opportunities.
Increased funding has been given to The Food Museum (Museum of East Anglian Life) in Stowmarket, and Suffolk Libraries, with them receiving £358,218 and £275,172 per year respectively.
The funding will support a broad range of activity by The Food Museum, including its daily creative activities for visitors, a new schools offer for children and young people, community and artist-led exhibitions, and collections development.
The libraries’ plans to deliver more activities for young people, support local artists, expand its mental health and wellbeing offer and community outreach, have also all been boosted by the funding.
Arts Council England Chair, Sir Nicholas Serota, said: “As well as continuing our commitment to our many established and renowned cultural organisations, I am deeply proud of the support we will be giving to those new organisations which will help ignite creativity across the country.
"We are facing economic pressures at present but this funding is about an investment in our future. This portfolio will support the next generation of visionary inventors, makers, performers and artists."
